Thread: Old vs New Norton hones

Are the new norton combination hones the same as the older antique ones sold on ebay?

Which hones are you referring to specifically?

Well I guess the new stones that can be found here
Norton Combination Water Stones
are these the same as the antique stones sold on ebay like this one
Antiqu NORTON Combination Razor Hone,Box,Straight Razor - eBay (item 280513431235 end time Jun-02-10 16:20:18 PDT)

Just to clarify by the same I mean do they basically sharpen a razor the same or are the antique stones better at doing the job.

No, those are very different hones. Some of the vintage ones are very highly sought after (hundreds of dollars on ebay), and, as I recall, Sham posted that those ones give fantastic edges. But, as with the current ones, there are a number of different types of vintage Nortons. As far as I know, new Nortons do not go over 8k.

OK, so the vintage 4/8k norton produces a better/faster/or finer edge than the new synthetic norton 4/8k.

The hone that you referenced on ebay is not a 4/8 norton 8x3" that we commonly use for straight razor honing. It is a smaller hone that is favored by ax men in Australia (no joke) and in that condition could bring $500.00. If you get it let us know how it works for you.

500 well there goes that idea. Looks like im sending the razors out to one of you professional guys to hone them

Originally Posted by Dllandry

OK, so the vintage 4/8k norton produces a better/faster/or finer edge than the new synthetic norton 4/8k.

No. While there may be some very minor differences between the US made Norton 4/8k and the Mexico made 4/8k, they are not that drastic (and those are not the hones you are talking about). The hone you linked to and the hones I referenced are not 4/8k's - they are completely different LINES of hones.

Your question is like asking how a "new car" compares to an "old car" - you have to be more specific.

Nothing wrong with the Norton 4/8. That by itself or go whole hog here.

The vintage one i was in austrailia and being a barber my self . I poped into a very old barber shop and had a chat with the original barber. he showed me what he used and was trained with in his aprentaship. And it was the vintage norton in the above picture.he used it to set the edge and then he finished on a milk stone which we no to be coticule, he said he used water only no slurry, and thats all he used